18 Weeks

Today baby Thomas is 18 weeks along. Almost to the half way point. This week the baby is 5.5-7 inches in length (crown to rump) and weighs 5-7 ounces. His or her chest is moving up and down to mimic breathing. The vocal cords are beginning to form and the baby may cry, though because there is no air passing through the cords no sound is produced. The baby can been seen yawning and sucking it's thumb on ultrasound. In addition to the lanugo that began forming a week or two ago, vernix (a waxy substance) is now forming on the skin to protect it from the amniotic fluid for the remainder of the pregnancy. Hearing is now acute and the baby can hear sounds from outside of the uterus.

Time is passing quickly, and now Eric and I are patiently waiting to learn the gender of the baby so we can continue with the nursery. I love the colors on the wall and can't wait to decorate more.

Crystal sent me a book called "Baby Bargains" and it has a lot of great info in it. I've been looking at it a lot trying to get an idea of what we really need. It lists baby items by category and gives a rating based on cost and safety. This is a book I would recommend to all mommies to be!

Well, that's about it. Not much exciting has happened so far this week. Work has been busy! Lots of babies being born in Colorado and keeping us nurses on the go. I love that I'm able to do both labor and delivery and also postpartum. Both have their pros and cons, though for more excitement in your night (usually) L&D is the way to go. My best friend Liz is due any day now with her little girl, Abigail, and I keep wondering if she'll come in on a night I'm working. Either way, it should be exciting!

I'll post more again soon!

:) Jenny